Integrate!

 What have you given up on before you even started? There are so many things we try a little and then stop because the learning curve seems too steep. We can't do everything, and so we stop doing something that might take too much effort or too much time to understand. Fair enough? It's not fair enough when it comes to understanding how you are making choices. You might know your own mind but that mind is shaped by your brain. If you don't know anything about your brain, it's hard to know when to trust your thinking and when to challenge it. Allow me to introduce you to Lisa Feldman Barrett.  She's one of my favourite sources of news about how the brain/body system works. When you read 7 1/2 Short Lessons About the Brain  you'll understand how  how many things you "know" about your brain that are just plain wrong. And you'll see how having better information connects to knowing yourself better and making better choices. This is a short, easy read b...

 How is that key relationship going for you: the relationship with the voice in your head? How often do you fight with that voice, or sneer at it, or walk away from it discouraged? If you were to describe a relationship with another person the way you describe your feelings about the voice in your head, how would that sound? There is no divorcing the voice in your head; you cannot silence it and you cannot make it respect your boundaries. This is the relationship that you can negotiate but not ditch. Here are three things to consider the next time the voice in your head does not seem like a good friend: The voice in the head is always on your side. It's not always tactful or friendly or upbeat, but it is on your side. You made it. You can meet the complaints and criticisms and fears with compassion. We are all in palliative care: we are all scared of running out of time or health or hope. If you were visiting someone who sounded like the voice in your head, you could dig in and fin...